The practice known as phishing typically involves sending fraudulent e-mails that include links directing recipients to fake Web sites where they are asked to input sensitive data. Phishers may also include attachments that, when clicked, secretly install “spyware” that can capture personal information and send it to third parties over the Internet.

Federal authorities have charged 38 people with stealing names, Social Security numbers, credit card data and other personal information from unsuspecting Internet users, the Justice Department said Monday.

Indictments unsealed in Los Angeles and New Haven, Conn., say a global crime ring sought to rip off thousands of consumers and hundreds of financial institutions.

The Justice Department announced the busts in two separate but related cases Monday morning during a trip by the deputy attorney general to Romania.

Among the charges in the Los Angeles indictments are conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act; conspiracy in connection with access devices; unauthorized access to a protected computer; bank fraud; and aggravated identity theft.

The RICO conspiracy charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, bank fraud has a maximum sentence of 30 years, and device fraud conspiracy has a maximum sentence of seven and a half years. The unauthorized access count carries a maximum prison sentence of five years, and aggravated identify theft carries a mandatory two-year prison sentence.